Abstract
The sleeping chironomid, Polypedilum vanderplanki, is the only insect known to be capable of anhydrobiosis. Recently, we discovered that Pv11 cells derived from this insect showed the capacity to survive desiccation. This finding allowed us to perform functional analysis of anhydrobiosis at the cellular level. Hence, we decided to investigate which genes were involved in anhydrobiosis using genome editing technology in Pv11 cells. In order to optimize the technology for non-model organisms like the sleeping chironomid, it is essential to select appropriate expression promoters. We isolated Pol II and Pol III type promoters from this insect for exogenous expression of Cas9 and a guide RNA, respectively, and confirmed their activity.
